Acetylene-lamp.



F. E.-BALDWIN.

ACETYLENELAMP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. 1911.

Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

THE coLuMBlA PLANUGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. D. C.

FREDERIC E. BALDwiiv, 0E NEW YORK, N. Y. Y

AcE'rYLENE-LAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 191e.

f Application led September 9, 1911. i Serial No. 648,503.

To all whom t may concern.' Be it known that I, FREDERIC E. BALD- WIN, acitizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of New York,borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have inventeda new and Improved Acetylene-Lamp, of which the f ollowing is a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to acetylene lamps and comprises a number ofdistinct improvements all of which, however, are for the general purposeof controlling the flame and protecting the chimney.

, More particularly stated, my invention comprehends the followingpurposes, to wit: to provide an elongated tubular connection which shalldischarge excess gas at a point remote from the burner so that it willnot be ignited by the flame.

`Reference is to be had to the accompanying vdrawing forming a part ofthis specification and in which likecharacters of reference indicatecorresponding parts, and in which the figure shows a central verticalsection through an acetylene lamp made in accordance with my invention.

A generating` chamber is shown atl and is filled or partially filled inthe usual manner with carbid 2. The upper end of the generating chamberis provided with a neck 3 so formed as to present practically a threadedinternal surface. A water reservoir is shown at 4, and, likethegenerating chamber 1, is made of'sheet metal.- The water reservoir isprovidedl with a reduced portion 5 which has generally the conformity ofa threadand ts into the threaded neck 3 of the generating chamber. Apacking 6 which, in this instance, is a rubber ring,jis inserted betweenthe water reservoir and the upper yportion of the generating chamber forthe purpose of rendering these parts gas-tight relatively to each other.

rl-he water reservoir 4 contains water 7 and is provided centrally atits bottom with a water tube 8. Thiswater tube is of a lengthcommensurate with other parts, as hereinafter described. Extending intothe water vreservoir 4 is a valve chamber 9 containing a needle valve10. The valve chamber9 is, by aid of a tube 11, connected with thegenerating chamber 1. The lower end vof ythe tube 11 is enlarged andfilled with a fibrous mass 12 which serves as a sieve to preventportions Vof the carbid fromV acci,-

dentally getting into the tube incase the` llamp is turned over.

Connected with the valve chamber 9 is a burner tube 13 carrying a tip 14encircled by a gas bag 16. This gas bag is generally of an annular formand is provided with necks 17 which it closely around the burner tube.vIt serves as an equalizer for the purpose of preventing unduemomentarychanges in atmospheric pressure from extinguishing the fiame.

n rlhe top of the water reservoir 4 is shown aty 18 and has generallythe form of a flat disk. Resting upon this top is a lamp chimney 19which is merely a cylinder of glass.

A numbergof tubular posts 2O spaced Vequij distant are disposed aroundthe chimneyl9 and arranged generally in the form of a circle.A Theseposts are formedinto ,a cir- `cular gallery, and, because of theirtubular form are provided Awith passages 21, some .of which may readilybe used for pouring water intothe vwater reservoir 4. n

A wire 23 extends through one of vthe tubularjposts 2O and Yis providedat its upper endrwith a'loop 24 serving the purpose of a handle. Thewire 23 is of some lengthV and i Y.

is, bent, a portion 23a extending down .through the water tube V8. Idesignate the wire 23 as a raking wire.- By pushing it duces a slightagitation ofthe carbid 2 immediately under the lower end of the-watertube 8. This vertical movement of the wire also tends to dislodge anyobstruction which up or down, by aid of the handle 24, it pro- K K mayhappen to-get into the water tube 8; f

that is,between it and the portion 23a of the wire.

The diameter of the wire 23, and particularlyy the diameter of theportion 23a, is so related to the internal diameter 'of the water forwhich the burner is constructed. The 3 water tube S is of such lengththat, when the tube contains vthe portion 23a of the wirel23, thediameter of thefwater tube is practically so restricted as top'rohibitthe upward passageof 'gas and the downward v'passage or" water throughthe water tube at the same moment, but 'when an excess of gas isgenerated the excess gas passesy upward through the tube 8 and escapesbythe tubes 21 or 22 to the atmosphere. In thisway the excess gas isdischarged at a consider-y able distance from the burner and the naturalcurrents of air or burned products of combustion tend to keep the excessgas away from the flame. This is of great importance where the carbid issuddenly shaken up as by Vdropping the lamp without extinguish# ing theflame of the burner, since it prevents fio the ignition of the escapingexcess gas.

The parts are soV constructed that when the generating chamber is filledwith carbid and the water reservoir is filled with water and the Valve10^is closed, a few drops of water entering the carbid chamber l andowing to the fact that the maximum supply of water is greatlyrestricted. Without the proper restriction the water vwould immefdiately flood the carbid, thus causing a large overgeneration and wasteof gas. Upon y partially closing the valve 10,the increasing gaspressure cuts off theasupply of water `until the gas pressure within thelamp falls below the water column pressure, and when this occurs thewater will begin to slowly enter the carbid chamber so that the supplyof the water willbe substantially in proportion to the consumption ofthe` gas.

In'lamps of 'ordinary construction, when built to burn for many hours insuccession, the large amount of water consumed causes theV water levelin the water reservoir to vary by several inches; therefore, as thewater in the water .reservoir `Vis gradually depleted,

the pressure ofthe water column extending down into the gas generator isgradually v lessened, the result being that the flow of water iscorrespondingly curtailed and, as a consequence, the flame burns lowerthan desirable. To avoid this difliculty, I make the water tube 8-longerthan would otherwise be necessary to obtain a proper maximum amount ofwater pressure. lVhen the water tube 8 is thus lengthened, its excessivelength is rendered, in a great measure, unobjectionable bythe action ofthe wire which vit contains; thatis to say, the presence of the wireproduces a retarding effect upon the downward flow of water through thewater tube, the net result being that the downward fiow of water iscomparatively steady,-but that variations in its pressure, due tovariations in the depth of water contained atV different moments in thewater reservoir,

. are rendered less pronounced as affecting vthe actualv quantitativeflow of water into the lgas generator.

The tubes 2O are of such length that though open and connected with thewater container, they prevent the water in the container from splashingup and coming in contact .with the chimney under any ordinary conditionsof use.

To illustrate, a lamp having a. water reservoir three inches deep and awater tube vsix inches long would afford a water pressure equal to thatof a water column nine the lamp constitute, for purposes of pressureefliciency, a vcolumn only one inch in height, if the water tube S'be soproportioned as to work at the mean water pressure level of thereservoir, there is a variation, during the entire time while the lampis burning, of a pressure representing that of a water columny onlyone-half inch rin height. `This slight variation, in lamps of this type,is in practice negligible.

Asmay :bei seen from the foregoing remarks, the lamp is regulated partlyby restricting the downward fiow of water from the reservoir into thecarbid chamber andi partly by the direct pressure of the'gas acting uponthe column of water thus restricted. It follows as a necessaryconsequence that the fiow of water ispractically regulated by adjustmentof the flow of gasto the burner.

I find that a steady burning of the lamp with a fiame of substantiallyuniform brils liancy is 'easily accomplished in themanner justdescribed; that is to'say, I provide practically a water column ofconsiderable height from theupper level in the `water reservoir to thebottom of the generating chamber containing the carbid, and thenrestrict the downward flow of water from the water reservoir into thegas generating chamber. The retarding influence seems to be theyfriction .of the water as it insinuates itself between the portion 23aof the raking'wire 23 and .the inner surface of the water tube 8. Nodoubt, along with the friction, there isV also retardation due toca'pillarity. The cause ofy retardation appears to 'be partly frictionand partly capillarity, and yseems n independent of the variations inhydraulic pressure due to depth of the water column. At any rate, theretardation has a marked tendency to steady the flow of waterindependently of variations in the total depth of the water column.

A shield 25, made in this instance of sheet metal, and having agenerally frusto-conical form, is provided with air holes 26 and with anannular flange 27. This iiange rests upon the upper end of the lampchimney 19. A cylinder 28 encircles the shield 25 and is providedinternally with an annular flange 29. 'Ihe cylinder 28 is furtherprovided with air holes 30. Two conical members 31, 32 made of gauze,and each having a substantially frusto-conical form, are fitted togethervconcentrically and are provided with annular flanges 33. These conicalmembers of gauze together constitute a so-called safety gauze for thelamp. The flanges 33 are clamped between the flange 29 and the flange27. A hood 34 is mounted upon lugs 35 carried by the cylinder 28 andconstitutes, as usual, the roof of the lamp. The hood 34 carries an eye36, and engaging the latter is a hook 37 whereby the lamp may besuspended. The shield 25 is for the purpose of preventing the flame ofthe lamp from reaching the safety gauze and burning through the same, aresult which might otherwise take place in the event that the iame isunduly elongated, as, for instance, whenever there is an excess of gasgeneration. No matter how great may be the volume of the flame from theburner, the flame cannot reach the gauze, and, indeed, cannot extendvery high for the reason that it reaches a volume of dead air orincombustible gas housed within the upper portion of the shield 25. I donot limit myself to this particular form of shield, nor to the use ofmetalin its construction. Obviously,

the shield may be made of any suitable fireproof material, such, forinstance, as asbestos. If the shield 25 be made of considerable height,as shown, and provided with air holes 26, the flame, if undulyelongated, will have a tendency to reach up into the shield,

but owing to the fact that oxygen is not supplied in through the shieldat any point whereas under the same conditions, but Y without the shield25, the gauze would be destroyed in a few seconds.

y Certain features described and not claimed herein, are claimed in mypending applica tion Serial No. 689,7 66, filed April 10, 1912.

I do not limit myself to the precise mechanism shown, as variations maybe made therein without departing Yfrom the spirit of my invention, thescope of which is commensurate with my claim.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecureby Letters Patent is An acetylene gas lamp comprising a carbidcontainer, a burner, a chimney surrounding said burner, a watercontainer located below said burner, metal posts extending upwardlyabove the water tank and protecting said chimney, at least one of saidmetal posts being tubular and communicating with the water container andadapted to carry of't1 the gas generated in excess of the requirementsof the lamp, said tubular post discharging said excess gas at a pointremote from the burner.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIC E. BALDWIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing'the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

